PC Build: Upgrade or start fresh?

Hey there,

So, back when I built my current rig about five years ago, I actually got some killer advice on here...
Fast forward to now, and I’m staring down the barrel of needing some serious changes, so I figured I'd pick your brains again...

Here is what I'm currently running, an aging setup from half a decade ago:

- Intel Core i5-6500, LGA 1151
- Asrock H170 PRO4S
- 2 x WD 3 TB WD30PURX 64MB set up in RAID 1
- Kingston SSD 120 GB HyperX Fury
- Coolmaster 400 midi USB 3.0
- Fractal IntegraM 650.
- Asus DWDRW
- 1 x 8 GB Kings DDR4 2400 FY
- Gigabyte GTX950 WF2 OC

I originally bought this beast specifically for work in Photoshop, and honestly, it's been holding its own up until recently.
But lately, I've started dipping my toes into video work, using Premier and After Effects (which run fine, I guess), but Da Vinci? Forget about it—it just won't budge.
To make matters worse, I ran a drive scan with Crystaldiskom, and apparently, one of my WD drives is throwing a yellow "warning" flag, and the other is screaming red with a "caution" alert.
On top of all that, I've started hitting this weird snag where whenever I try to move massive files around, my screen just goes black and leaves me staring at nothing but the file explorer.

So, basically, what's the move here?
I could try to swap out the hard drives (unless they can somehow be resurrected, though I doubt it), bump up the RAM, and grab a new GPU just to make video editing even remotely possible.
Or, I could just bite the bullet and buy a whole new machine, which brings me to the big question: what kind of specs should I be looking at? I don't have a bottomless pit of cash to throw at this, but I need something that's going to last me another five years and handle my workload without choking.

Just to be clear, this isn't a gaming rig; it's strictly for business. It needs to be rock solid (my current setup runs on Windows 10 and hasn't crashed on me yet, thank god) and powerful enough that I can actually work with 4K footage in Premier, After Effects, and Da Vinci without wanting to pull my hair out.

What would you guys suggest doing?
Thanks a ton! :-)

Looks like you're running low on RAM, and you definitely need to sort out those drives.
How much storage are we talking about?

There isn't much else you can upgrade on that rig besides that.
I’d suggest an upgrade path similar to what was discussed in this thread:

A 1TB SSD should be plenty for what you need right now, and you can always repurpose it as a secondary drive in your next build later on. You'll feel a massive speed boost immediately. You might "burn through" its lifespan in a few years, but if this gear is how you make your living, it's worth it. Plus, it comes with a 5-year warranty, so who cares, right?
You could even keep your current SSD as your system drive (for Windows) and use the new one strictly for working in apps—like a scratch disk. It works wonders for Photoshop and stuff like that.

If you add another 8GB of RAM to get to 2x8GB, you can just move those sticks over to your new build down the road if you decide to build a whole new PC.

If 1TB isn't enough for you... I don't know. More hard drives?

I suspect it might be a core count issue, or perhaps even the GPU acting up while running After Effects... though we really need to dig deeper to be sure.

If you're planning to keep this rig for the next five years, my advice is to go with a brand-new platform—meaning a fresh CPU, motherboard, and RAM combo. You should also look into a new GPU and a 1TB SSD, plus some HDDs if you need extra storage; those old drives are likely on their last legs, and a 120GB SSD just won't cut it anymore. Do you have a rough budget in mind? I ask because $1667 could potentially be an upgrade for the entire system, or it might just cover a single component. 😁

wiredotter14 said:I’m thinking you’re running low on RAM, and you definitely need to sort out those drives.
How much storage are we talking about here?
If you grab another 8GB of RAM and bump it up to 2x8, you can always just migrate it over to a new rig later if you decide to build a whole new setup.
And honestly, if 1TB isn't cutting it for you, I don't even know... maybe more hard drives?

Honestly, grabbing a new SSD to act as your D: drive for working files—basically replacing that current 2-drive RAID setup—is a killer idea.
I was digging through the DaVinci Requirements for handling 4K footage, and it says:
- GPU 8GB VRAM
- CPU 4 cores
- RAM 32 GB

Based on that, I'm looking at needing a beefier graphics card and probably at least another 16 GB of RAM.
As far as storage goes—man, I’d love to have at least 2 TB, and I’m wondering if it actually makes sense to pick up two SSDs and run them in RAID 1, just so I don't lose my mind if something crashes.

Timothy Kim60 said:Honestly, I think they're messing with him about the core count, and maybe even the GPU when it comes to After Effects... but hey, who knows, we'll have to see how it plays out.

Look, if you’re planning on keeping this thing for the next 5 years, just bite the bullet and grab a whole new platform—you know, CPU, motherboard, RAM, the whole nine yards. You'll probably want a new GPU too, plus a 1TB SSD and some HDDs if you actually need storage, because let's be real, those old drives are probably on their last legs, and a 120GB SSD is basically a joke these days. Do you even have a ballpark budget in mind? I'm asking because $1667 could mean a total overhaul or just swapping out one single part 😁

Based on those specs, that GPU is definitely tripping.
I was chatting with someone over at Aquisitum a while back—that's where I picked up my rig—and they warned me that if my motherboard dies, I'm basically screwed. So, looking ahead, I'm probably going to need to invest in a brand new platform anyway. Budget? Man, I haven't really crunched the numbers... I'm guessing if I go with a decent i7 or maybe a lower-end i9, pair it with a 6GB card, an SSD, and some extra hard drives, I'd be looking at roughly $2333. I don't want to go full overkill, but I seriously need this machine to be fast and stay stable.
Or should I just stick with the current i5 and try to upgrade from there?

Upgrading your current CPU isn't a long-term fix; it’s just putting a Band-Aid on a sinking ship.

IMO, grab some extra RAM and an SSD right now since you can carry them over when you eventually swap out the whole platform. Otherwise, you're better off waiting until spring to do a full overhaul.

DDR4 RAM and M.2 SSD prices aren't too bad right now, so you might as well grab them while they're low. You can find a 1TB M.2 SSD for less than $267, and 8GB sticks of RAM are sitting around $250-$100. Just make sure you hunt down the exact same model you're currently using. Personally, I'd go for three 8GB sticks so you end up with 32GB total.

Alexander Moore67 said:DDR4 RAM and M.2 SSD prices aren't even that bad right now. You can snag a 1TB M.2 SSD for under $267 and 8GB of RAM is sitting around $100. Just move fast to find an exact match for what you're running. Honestly? I'd just grab three more 8GB sticks and bump it up to 32GB total.

👍👍

Thanks for the tip. I think I'll give Aquisitum a call since they were the ones who put this rig together in the first place.
Or hey, if you guys know someone actually worth my time, feel free to drop some names? Honestly, the build they did for me is decent enough, just feels a bit sluggish lately.
And why exactly is everyone saying spring is the sweet spot for pulling the trigger on an upgrade?
Besides swapping out the CPU and the GPU, what else is actually worth touching?

Look, I know this sounds like a total rookie move, but if I’m already diving into a massive overhaul this spring, wouldn't it make more sense to just scrap the whole thing and start from scratch?
I mean, let's face it—this machine is five years old now, and everything is basically just waiting to kick the bucket one by one...

slyowl54 said:Thanks for the tip. I'll call Aquisitum since they built the rig.
Or can you recommend someone better? They did a decent job on this build.
Why would waiting until spring be better for an upgrade?
And what else makes sense to swap out besides the CPU and GPU?

I know it sounds stupid, but if I'm upgrading in the spring anyway, wouldn't it be better to just build a whole new system?
Everything is five years old now, and things are going to start failing one by one...

1) If they built the PC, you can go back to them and they'll likely install whatever you buy from them for free. If you find a better deal elsewhere, you're on your own, but slapping in an SSD or some RAM isn't rocket science—just watch a YouTube tutorial and read the motherboard manual.

2) The latest CPUs and GPUs just hit the market, but supply is a mess right now, and buying last gen isn't worth it. Basically, everything is in short supply except for memory.

3) You can salvage a good chunk of the old build for the new one; it’s not total junk. The PSU seems fine, plus the case, the old SSD, a new SSD, and DDR4 RAM (maybe keep one old stick and add three new ones)...
Then you really only need a motherboard, CPU, GPU, and maybe new hard drives, though those are separate upgrades. The old parts won't just die on you. Just give me the exact PSU model to be sure, otherwise, it's fine. Motherboards and drives are what usually fail. RAM rarely dies if the hardware is solid.

4) Sell off parts of the old rig. You might get about $267 (rough guess) toward a new motherboard, CPU, and GPU. Not a bad haul.

Sweet, so I guess my next move is just dropping some cash on an SSD and more RAM.
I’m still rocking that Fractal IntegraM 650.
Honestly, I might just drag the whole mess over to Best Buy and see if they'll throw in a free assembly or something.

I was thinking along the lines of—depending on your budget, of course—if you're aiming for something more ambitious or if this is strictly for professional work intended to last five years like you mentioned—that you should grab an Intel Core i9-12900K paired with two 16GB sticks of DDR4 RAM (maybe 3200MHz). That way, you have the flexibility to add more later, and if you ever need to, you can just sell off the extra stick along with the CPU and motherboard. As for the GPU, maybe aim for a GTX 1660 Ti once availability improves; honestly, the only place you'll see decent prices is through a link like $1300
.
Look, it’s hard to give a solid recommendation without knowing your budget. Just that Intel Core i9-12900K alone will run you $1517, but it offers the best bang for your buck regarding productivity in the current generation
.

So, I’m looking at a budget of maybe around $7,000 for a motherboard, some kind of i7 processor, and a GPU with 6 GB of VRAM—if that even makes any sense at all. I know, I know, I'm probably chasing outdated tech here, but I just don't have like $10k burning a hole in my pocket right now...

In that case, just save up for a bigger upgrade. An Intel Core i9-12900K is definitely the right move for what you're trying to do.

And like slyowl54 mentioned, maybe grab 2x16GB DDR4 RAM instead of 3x8GB. That way you actually have a path to 64GB down the road if you need it.

wiredotter14 said:Honestly, you might be better off just saving up for a massive overhaul later on. If you want the best bang for your buck for what you're doing, that Intel Core i9-12900K is basically the gold standard right now.

And hey, like CNN was saying earlier, if I were you, I’d grab 2x16GB DDR4 RAM instead of messing around with 3x8GB sticks, just so you actually have the headroom to jump to 64GB down the road without everything breaking.

Thanks for the heads up...
and yeah, I'm definitely gonna grab an SSD first to act as a temporary drive...

Are we talking about DaVinci Resolve here? If so, you really need a more powerful graphics card and at least 16 GB of RAM to get by. But looking at that CPU—which honestly performs about the same as an Intel Core i7-4770K—it might be smarter to just aim for a GTX 1060 or a GTX 1060 Ti given how crazy card prices are right now. That processor should handle decoding a single 4K h265 stream or maybe two h264 streams, but after that, you're relying almost entirely on the GPU.

Most of the heavy lifting in After Effects is handled by the CPU, though they did move some specific effects over from New York City once CC became a thing, such as Motion Blur and Lumetri Color.

Thinking about building a new rig? Honestly, don't even bother with anything less than 6GB of VRAM; just skip it. If you grab an RTX 2060 Super with 8GB, you'll be set for most tasks for quite a while, including DaVinci Resolve. Though, I suppose we can all hope that prices will finally drop early next year! You'll want a processor with solid single-threaded performance to keep things smooth in After Effects and the Fusion tab in DaVinci, but for most video content creation, decent multi-threading is usually plenty fast enough.

Word is that by mid-January, we'll see the GTX 1660 Ti arriving. It's built on the GA106 chip (unlike the 3060Ti which uses GA104, similar to an RTX 3070), and it should feature 12GB of VRAM thanks to that 192-bit bus.
There might be a 6GB version floating around, but a leak on the official ASUS site suggests the 12GB variant is coming, which is definitely a win. I wouldn't count on any massive price cuts for the RTX 2000 series; that rarely happens during a generational shift—they usually just get phased out of stock.

It shouldn't take long before the 3050Ti and 3050 hit the market, though rumors say the standard 3050 will arrive first.

@slyowl54/">@@slyowl54

If you want my advice, hold off until at least February. You'll want to wait for better availability of the hardware already out there and for the arrival of the new mainstream GPU models (yes, those 3000-series cards are officially considered mainstream now $1667). Basically, save up until you can afford:

An Intel Core i9-12900K (roughly $1533)
A decent B550 motherboard (something like an ASUS Prime B550 or a Gigabyte Aorus B550m elite) for about $283, unless you specifically need extra features like dual GPU support. In that case, don't go overboard—stick to something like a Gigabyte X570, MSI Tomahawk, or an ASUS ROG Strix X570, which should run you around $600. Those are high-end boards, and anything more expensive won't offer much tangible benefit. Just check if you actually need DDR4 RAM
DDR4 RAM 2x16gb 3000/3200mhz (around 900-$333)
The GPU mentioned earlier—either look for that GTX 1660 Ti 12GB or stick with the current RTX 2060 8GB Super. Alternatively, if you wait longer, the cheaper RTX 3050 or 3050Ti models should come with a 128-bit bus and an 8GB VRAM option.
For storage, a 1TB NVMe SSD is plenty. I grabbed a SanDisk Extreme Pro 1TB for $287 during a Black Friday sale on Amazon

You can always grab the graphics card later, but you can pick up the SSD right away.

If you're working with a tight budget of up to $2333, I’d suggest waiting until spring to grab a new Ryzen 5 5600. That way, you'll have more cash left over to put toward a better GPU.
But if you need to buy right now, you could pick up an R7 2700X paired with a B450 Tomahawk Max, 24GB of Kingston DDR4 RAM, and a 2060 Super. That should run you about $2333, and you can always upgrade the CPU later since the B450 board will get a BIOS update in early 2021.

I’m not seeing massive leaps from the RTX 3060 when it comes to running da Vinci, as it’ll likely hover around the same performance level we saw with the 2060 Super. If you look at the current 3060 Ti, it sits pretty much right in that sweet spot between the 2060 Super and the 3070... though, of course, all of that depends on whether the price actually makes sense for you, and having that 12 GB of VRAM certainly doesn't hurt.

If we look at the CPU, motherboard, and RAM combo I mentioned, we’re looking at roughly $2167. It’s a solid platform. That leaves $167 on the table—if he sells the CPU for about $400-$$167, the motherboard for $200-$$83, and the RAM kit for $150-$$67 (honestly, if he lists the whole set for $100, it’ll sell like hotcakes). That should cover a 1TB SSD perfectly. From there, he just needs to wait for the dust to settle regarding the next generation of mainstream GPUs, because upgrading his graphics card alone is going to cost him way more than his $7k budget. Once he finds something suitable, he can offload the current GTX 950 for $100. He doesn't need to jump straight to a high-end $3,000 beast right away; an RTX 3050 or a 3050Ti with 8GB of VRAM would be a massive upgrade
.
Cheaper CPU alternatives: R7 5800X at $1233, i7 10700K at $1000 (though obviously, Intel requires a different board), R7 3700X at $833, or perhaps the R5 5600X for $900, depending on whether his software suite prioritizes single-core or multi-threaded performance—unless the R5 5600 becomes available
.